Staying Healthy Archive

A 2023 study suggests eating enough of six categories of food common in popular heart-health diets is associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease, including heart attacks and strokes. The six groups are fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, fish, and dairy products.

A higher body mass index (BMI) is a major risk factor for osteoarthritis, but a 2023 study suggests it is also associated with inflammatory joint conditions including rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, gout, and inflammatory spondylitis.

Certain activities like running, stair climbing, or kneeling may lead to knee pain. But evidence suggests that regular activity or exercise is unlikely to cause actual knee damage. Learn how to keep active and avoid knee pain.

Learn which vaccines can help protect you against serious illness and hospitalization from RSV, COVID, and the flu this fall.

The thymus gland is very important in the development of the immune system during fetal growth, infancy, and early childhood. As we grow into adulthood the thymus shrinks, but growing evidence suggests the gland may play a role in adult health for much longer than previously thought.

Naps can be healthy for adults who need to catch up on sleep or work odd hours, but they can also make it more difficult to sleep at night and be a sign of a sleep disorder. Naps should be short and limited to the early afternoon to prevent them from interfering with nighttime sleep. People who have the urge to nap daily should consider whether they need to improve their nighttime sleep habits.

In the US population as a whole, deaths from colon cancer have been declining, but in people under 50 that rate has increased. Most major medical organizations recommend screening beginning at age 45 for people at average risk.

Removing tonsils in childhood was once routine care for healthy children, but is no longer recommended. Why are some organs and glands — appendix, tonsils, adenoids and more — considered expendable and why do we have them if they're not needed?